Golf ball ejecting device



Sept. 16, 1969 A, ENGUSH ET AL 3,467,378

GOLF BALL EJECTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 13. 1966 FIG. 6.

WM sfi wm im wmm ia mM L ETIL M 555 MM me m w k F" m United States Patent 3,467,378 GOLF BALL EJECTING DEVICE John A. English, 408 Seaward Road, Corona Del Mar, Calif. 92625, and Tor H. Petterson, San Pedro, Calif.; said Petterson assignor to said English Filed May 13, 1966, Ser. No. 549,923 Int. Cl. A63b 57/00 US. Cl. 27334 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf cup for automatically ejecting balls received therein, having an ejection mechanism including an ejection member operatively biased from a retracted restrained position toward an extended position and operatively returned to the retracted position, and actuating means responsive to the presence of the ball in the cup for releasing the ejection member from its restrained position. The ejection mechanism includes means for delaying the ejection of the ball after it is received within the cup. The ejection mechanism is automatically rotated about the axis of the golf cup to eject in different radial directions balls sequentially entering the cup. Means adapted to receive the base of a flag stick are provided for the golf cup to prevent engagement of the ball with the actuating means.

As the object of the game of golf is to hit a ball so that it will roll into or otherwise enter a hole or cup, an important feature of a golf course is the condition and maintenance of the surface of the putting green which surrounds each hole. As a ball is hit toward and as it approaches the hole, the ball loses initial speed and tends to become increasingly affected by any irregularity of the surface of the green. The surface in the immediate area of the cup is therefore of the greatest importance. It is this immediate area of the cup, however, that receives the most foot trafiic from players, for example, when they are standing preparatory to putting and especially when a player has holed his ball and approaches the cup to draw the ball out by hand. When the player is wearing the customary spiked shoes, the ground is perforated with holes on each step. A more serious problem, however, is caused by the compression of the ground due to the weight of the player. A compressive force near the edge of the hole causes the surface area at the rim to be raised. This effect, when multiplied by repeated play, leaves the surface at the rim of the cup in a slightly elevated position, thereby making it more difiicult to hit the ball into the hole.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a golf cup which will alleviate most of the foot traffic in the immediate area of the hole.

According to the present invention, when the ball is hit into the hole after the flag stick is removed, the ball is automatically, after a shortdelay, ejected from the hole to a distance away from the critical putting surface area immediately surrounding the cup. Automatically thereupon the system is returned to its original position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic ejection means for ejecting the ball from the hole, said ejection means being automatically actuated by the ball and automatically returned to its set or ready position.

Another object is to provide a delay action in the ejection means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means whereby balls sequentially entering the hole are ejected in different radial directions from the hole.

Another object of the invention is to provide means on 3,467,378 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 the flag staff which prevents the actuation of the automatic ejecting device when the flag staff is in the hole.

We know of no prior art devices which will eject the ball from the hole without someone approaching the hole either to operate or reset the particular ejecting device. Of prior devices actuated by the ball falling into the hole, no device adapted for actual playing conditions includes any means to delay the automatic actuation to insure that the ball did not bounce out from its own force, and no prior device includes any means for preventing the automatic actuation if desired.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the invention, taken along the line 1-1 in FIG. 4, and showing an ejection mechanism in its set or ready position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of a restraining means in its restrained or set position, and is taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the restraining means after the ejection mechanism has fired and during the reset operation;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1 and showing the ejecting means;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 55 in FIG. 1 and showing the ejecting means; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an electrical control circuit.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a cylindrical cup or cup member 11 is sized to fit snugly inside a standard hole 12 in a green 12a. A support member 13 is circumferentially attached to the inside of the cup 11 at approximately its mid-height. The support member 13 slopes upwardly and inwardly toward the center of the cup 11 to allow moisture to run off through circumferentially spaced circular drainage holes 14 in the cup 11. An inside rim 15 of the support member 13 is bent upwardly creating a circular space through which an elongated, preferably tube-like, member 18 can move freely in a vertical direction. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the elongated member 18 is of a generally arcuate shape. An annular guide 16 which abuts the outer circumference of the elongated member 18 is attached to the under side of the inside rim 15 of the support member 13 by means of a snap ring 16a. The guide 16- is preferably of a resilient material to allow the elongated member 18 to slide by freely While the guide 16 is acting as a moisture-sealant asit abuts the outer circumference of the elongated member 18.

A seat 20 to hold the ball when it falls into the cup is supported by and secured to the outside and uppermost part of the elongated member 18. The seat 20 includes at its center a sleeve 21 and radially spaced legs 22 pivotally attached at the points 20a to circumferentially spaced protrusions 21a of the sleeve 21. The legs 22 which slope upwardly and outwardly from the sleeve 21 are arcuately shaped on the inside surface to conform to the shape of the ball and are held in the position as shown in FIG. 1 by a biasing means such as an elastic ring 17 which fits around the grooves 22a in the bases of the legs 22. The legs 22 on one side of the seat 20 are shorter than on the other side. The shorter legs are positioned on the inside of the are created by the vertical movement of theelongated member 18 in its preferred arcuate form. When the elongated member 18 is extended upwardly and outwardly, the ball will fall or be tossed free from the shorter of the legs 22. When the elongated member is returned from its extended position to its retracted position, the legs 22 may pivot inwardly when obstructed by an object such as another ball in the cup 11 to allow the seat 20 to be returned to its original position as shown in FIG. 1.

Extending upwardly from within the sleeve 21 of the seat 20 is a circular element 23 which is supported by a spring 24 which rests on the top of and is supported by the elongated member 18. Inside the spring 24 and attached to the underside of the element 23 is a wire 25. The wire 25 is positioned within and extends the full length of the elongated member 18 and protrudes beyond the lower end of the elongated member.

Attached to and resting on the support member 13 are circumferentially spaced radial rib members 19. The rib members 19 are attached to the inside of the cup 11 and extend toward the center of the cup to a circumferential position just outside the seat 20. The rib members 19 slope gently downwardly and inwardly from the cup 11. When the ball falls into the hole 12, it is guided by the rib members 19 onto the seat 20.

A circular bottom member 30 is attached to the lowermost portion of the cup 11. The bottom member 30 is held firmly in place by a snap ring 31. At the center of the bottom member 30 is a circular hole 32 which may receive a battery recharging connector 33. The bottom member 30 is formed to include a smooth-topped outer portion 35 adjacent the cup 11, a circumferential groove portion 36, and a solid inner portion 37. Afiixed to the inner portion 37 and extending into the groove portion 36 is a ring gear 38.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and of the drawings, an ejection means 39 is positioned above the bottom member 30 of the cup 11. A circular base member 40 with an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of the cup 11 rests upon and is supported by the bottom member 30 by means of ball bearings 41 which ride in square cavities 42 circumferentially spaced around the underside of the base member 40 and which are carried by the outer portion 35 of the bottom member 30. The base member 40 has a circular opening 44 positioned above the groove portion 36 of the bottom member 30. Around the opening 44 and extending vertically upward is a cylindrically shaped hollow boss 45 forming part of the base member 40.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, passing through the opening 44 and the boss 45 is a vertical hollow rotatable shaft 48 suspended from a rotary drive means 49 which rests on a support 50. Preferably a plastic sleeve bearing 46 is positioned between the shaft 48 and the boss 45. A preferred embodiment of the rotary drive means 49 consists of a motor also indicated by 49 powered by batteries 104 indicated in FIG. 4. The support 50 is attached to and carried by support members 51 and 52 which are attached at their bases to the base member 40. Extending partially through the support member 52 from its inside face 54 is a counterbore 55. There is provided a member 56 which includes an internally threaded stub shaft 57 at one end fitting in the counterbore 55, an enlarged cylindrical central member 58 containing a circular hole 59 through which passes the shaft 48, a circular disc 60, and a stub shaft 61 at the other end. The member 56 is attached to the support member 52 by means of a bolt 64 which passes through a bore 65 in the support member 52 and is threaded into the stub shaft 57 forming part of the member 56.

As shown in FIG. 1, a small vertical shaft 70 is attached by means of a pin 71 to the inside of the lower portion of the shaft 48. At the base of the shaft 70 is attached a gear 72 which is meshed with the ring gear 38. When the shaft 48 is rotating, thus causing rotation of the shaft 70 and the gear 72, the engagement of the gear 72 with the ring gear 38 causes the base member 40 to rotate above the bottom member 30 of the cup 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a horizontal bevel gear .4 74 is attached by the pin 71 to the shaft 48 below the cylindrical central member 58 of the member 56. A vertical bevel gear 75 is positioned outside the circular disc 60 of the member 56. The vertical gear 75 is meshed with the horizontal gear 74. A circular hole 76 in the gear 75 is sized to fit the stub shaft 61 so that the gear 75 may rotate freely on this shaft. Preferably a plastic bearing 77 is provided between the surfaces of the gear 75 and the circular disc 60 and between the interior surface of the gear 75 and the stub shaft 61. A vertical cam 73 is attached to the outer face 79 of the gear 75. Rotation of the shaft 48 with the horizontal gear 74 causes rotation of the gear 75 and the cam 73. The cam 73 is provided with lobes 78 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Two arms 80 and 81 forming part of the ejection means 39 are positioned to rotate vertically around the member 56. The base of the arm 81 has a circular hole 82 sized to fit the stub shaft 57 of the member 56 and the base of the arm 81 is vertically positioned between the support member 52 on one side and the cylindrical member 58 of the member 56 and the shaft 48 on the other side. Preferably a plastic bearing 83 is provided between the arm 81 and the support member 52 and the member 56. The base of the arm 80 is vertically positioned outside the cam 73 and has a circular hole 84 sized to en circle the stub shaft 61 of the member 56. Preferably a plastic bearing 85 is provided between the base of the arm 80 and the cam 73 and the stub shaft 61. The arm 80 is held in place by a snap ring 86 at the end of the stub shaft 61.

The elongated member 18 is located between and pivotally attached to the free ends of the arms 80 and 81. A two-armed spring 88, having at one end a base 88a rigidly secured in a groove 89 in the base member 40, is positioned between the elongated member 18 and the arms 80 and 81 and is pivotally attached at its free end to the bases of the arms 80 and 81.

The spring 88 biases the arms 80 and 81 from their retracted or set position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to their extended position, as shown in FIG. 3, thus moving the elongated member 18 upwardly and outwardly and thereby displacing the seat 20 upwardly out of the hole 12. When the arm 80 is in its retracted position as shown in FIG. 1, it engages an actuating arm 91 of a switch 90. The engagement of the switch arm 91 by the arm 80 opens the switch and opens a circuit 90a to the drive means 49.

A lever 93 is pivotally attached to the base of the arm 80 at 93a, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lever 93 is provided with two pins 94 and 95 which extend axially away from the arm 80. The arm 80 is retained in its set or retracted position by a latch 96 which engages the pin 95 on the lever 93. The latch 96 is biased into its operating position by a rattrap spring 97 which is attached to the latch 96 and bears against the base member 40. The latch 96 is pivotally attached to a rib 98 which is rigidly attached to the base member 40. The latch 96 is provided with lugs 100 and 101 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In operation, when the ball is hit into the hole 12 and falls into the cup 11, it is guided by the rib members 19 onto the seat 20. Upon falling onto the seat 20 the ball engages the element 23 and the weight of the ball forces this element downwardly. The downward movement of the element 23 forces the wire 25 to protrude further beyond the lower end of the elongated member 18 and engage an actuating arm 92 of the switch 90. Engagement of the switch arm 92 by the wire 25 closes the switch 90 to close the circuit 90a and thus causes the drive means 49 to rotate the shaft 48. Rotation of the shaft 48 causes rotation of the cam 73 by means of the gears 74 and 75, the rotation of the cam being in the counterclockwise direction. As the cam 73 rotates, one of the lobes 78 engages the lug 100 on the latch 96 and pivots the latch 96 in the clockwise direction to enable it to release the pin 95 on the lever 93. When the pin 95 is released, the spring 88 extends and thereby biases the arms 80 and 81 into their extended position. As the arms 80 and 81 are biased toward their extended position, they move the elongated member 18 with the seat 20 upwardly and outwardly from the cup 11 and the hole 12. When the arms 80 and 81 reach their extended position, the upward and outward motion of the elongated member 18 with the seat 20 is abruptly stopped and the ball is tossed or ejected free from the seat 20 and away from the hole 12. When the weight of the ball is removed from the element 23, the spring 24 biases the element 23 upwardly into its original position. Movement of the element 23 upwardly from the seat 20 pulls the wire 25 back into its original position at the lower end of the elongated member 18.

One of the features of the present invention is the delay between the time the ball falls into the hole 12 and when it is ejected. The preferred embodiment of the cam 73 has two diametrically opposed lobes 78 the positions of which in relation to the latch 96 are shown in FIG. 2, where the system is in its set position. When the ball activates the drive means 49 and the cam 73 begins to rotate, the cam 73 must make a partial revolution before one of the lobes 78 engages the lug 100 and releases the latch 96. The time for this partial revolution of the cam 73 is the delay time in the ejection of the ball after it has fallen into the hole 12.

Another feature of the present invention is the automatic reset means of the ejection device. As shown by FIGS. 2 and 3, a spring 99 biases the lever 93 in a direction such that the pin 94 on the lever engages the periphery of the cam 73 when the pin 95 of the lever is not engaged by the latch 96. Thus the lever 93 is so positioned by the spring 99 that as the cam 73 continues to rotate, one of the lobes 78 engages the pin 94 on the lever. The continued rotation of the cam 73 urges the pin 94 and the lever 93 downwardly until the pin 95 on the lever bears against the rib 98 and the lug 101 of the latch 96, forcing the pin 95 into its latched position, as shown in FIG. 2. The bearing of the pin 95 on the lever 93 against the rib 98 causes the pin 94 on the lever to be disengaged from the lobe 78. As the pin 95 reaches its latched position, the arm 80 engages the switch arm 91 and opens the switch 90 thereby shutting off the current to the drive means 49. The ejection device has thereby been returned to its set or ready position.

Another feature of the invention is the means whereby the balls are ejected in different radial directions. Rotation of the shaft 48 and the shaft 70 causes the gear 72 to move around the ring gear 38, thus causing rotation of the base member 40 above the bottom member 30 of the cup 11. After each rotation cycle of the drive means 49, the ejection means 39 is left in a new position inside the cup 11 and the arc formed by the elongated member 18 is in a new circumferential position, resulting in successive balls being ejected in different radial directions.

A further feature of the present invention is the means whereby the ball is prevented from engaging the element 23 to force the wire 25 to close the switch 90 and actuate the drive means 49. A flag stick 105 is provided with a base member 106, as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1. The bottom portion 108 of the base member 106 is formed in the shape of an inverted cup to be positioned between the seat 20 and the rib members 19 and carried by the support member 13. The top portion 109 of the base member 106 is generally conical as it slopes upwardly from the bottom portion 108 of the base member 106 to be attached to the flag stick 105. When the flag stick 105 is placed in the cup 11 as shown in FIG. 1, the ball when hit into the hole 12 is prevented from rolling onto the seat 20 by the base member 106, and the ejection means 39 is thus not actuated.

Many changes, modifications, and substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

6 What is claimed is: 1. In a golf cup for ejecting balls received therein and for use with a flag stick, the combination of:

a cup member for receiving a ball; ejection means at least partially within said cup member for automatically ejecting the ball radially from the cup member; actuating means responsive to the presence of the ball in the cup member for actuating said ejection means; and actuation preventive means adapted to receive the base of the flag stick and insertable into said cup member for preventing actuation of said ejection means by a ball in the cup member. 2. In a golf cup for ejecting balls received therein, the combination of:

a cup member for receiving a ball; an ejection member having an upper end within said cup member movable between a retracted position and an extended position, the upper end of said ejection member including seat means in which a golf ball putted into said cup member may be trapped, means for throwing a golf ball trapped in said seat means radially outwardly of the cup member in response to movement of said ejection member from said retracted position to said extended position; biasing means for biasing said ejection member from said retracted position toward said extended position; restraining means for preventing the biasing means from moving said ejection member from said retracted position to said extended position; actuating means responsive to the presence of the ball in the cup member for releasing said restraining means; and automatic reset means for automatically returning said ejection member to a restrained retracted position. 3. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 including means for automatically causing said ejection member to throw in different radial di rections balls sequentially entering said cup.

4. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 for use with a flag stick and including actuation preventive means adapted to receive the base of the flag stick and insertable into said cup member for preventing the ball from engaging said actuating means.

5. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 for use with a flag stick and including means for automatically causing said ejection member to throw in different radial directions balls sequentially entering said cup, and including actuation preventive means adapted to receive the base of the flag stick and insertable into said cup member for preventing the ball from engaging said actuating means.

6. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 wherein said ejection member includes, an elongated member supporting said seat means, an arm secured to said elongated member adjacent the lower end thereof, and means for pivotally mounting said arm.

7. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 wherein said biasing means includes a spring attached to said cup member and pivotally attached to said ejection member.

8. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 including a lever with a pin and means for pivotally attaching said lever to said ejection member; and wherein said restraining means includes a latch pivotally attached to said cup member, and a spring, said spring being attached to said latch and biasing said latch against said pin of said lever.

9. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 wherein said actuating means includes a switch responsive to and closed by the presence of the ball in said cup member, a cam with a lobe, and means for rotating said cam, said rotating means being actuated by the closing of said switch, said rotation causing said lobe to engage with and dislodge said restraining means.

10. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 including a lever with a pin, and means for pivotally attaching said lever to said ejection member; and wherein said automatic reset means includes a cam with a lobe, means for rotating said cam and causing said lobe to engage said pin thereby urging said ejection member into said retracted position, and a switch engaged during the movement of said ejection member into said retracted position, said switch thereby de-actuating said means for rotating said cam.

11. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 including a lever having pins at each end and means for pivotally attaching said lever to said ejection member,

wherein said ejection member includes an elongated tube supporting said seat means, an arm secured to said elongated tube adjacent the lower end thereof, and means for pivotally mounting said arm;

wherein said biasing means includes a spring, said spring being attached to said cup member and pivotally attached to said ejection member;

wherein said restraining means includes a latch pivotally attached to said cup member and a spring attached to said latch and biasing said latch against one of said pins of said lever;

wherein said actuating means includes a switch responsive to and closed by the presence of the ball in said cup member, a cam with a lobe, and means for rotating said cam, said rotating means being actuated by the closing of said switch, said rotation causing said lobe to engage with and dislodge said restraining means; and

wherein said automatic reset means includes said cam,

the rotation of said cam causing said lobe to engage one of said pins of said lever thereby urging said ejection member into said retracted position, and a second switch engaged during the movement of said ejection member into said retracted position, said switch thereby de-actuating said means for rotating said cam.

12. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 2 including means for delaying for a predetermined period of time the ejection of the ball from the cup member after the ball is received therein.

13. In agolf cup for ejecting balls received therein, the combination of:

a cup member for receiving a putted golf ball;

ejection means at least partially within said cup member and operable in response to a golf ball in the cup member for automatically ejecting the ball radially upward from the cup member; and

means for automatically causing said ejection means to delay for a predetermined period of time the ejection of the ball from the cup member after the ball is received therein, the delay time being sufiicient to insure that a golf ball exiting said cup member, after having been putted thereinto, did not bounce therefrom but was ejected therefrom by the ejection means.

. 14. A golf cup for ejecting balls received therein as defined in claim 13 for use with a flag stick and including actuating means responsive to the presence of the ball in the cup member for actuating said ejection means, and actuation preventive means adapted to receive the base of the flag stick and insertable into said cup member for preventing actuation of said ejection means by a ball in the cup member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,310,312 3/1967 Peeples.

FOREIGN PATENTS 19,031 1907 Great Britain.

GEORGE I MARLO, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 273-179 

